SAN ANGELO, TX — The TLCA San Angelo Eagles began their 2023 football season on Friday night, August 25, against the Ozona Lions in San Angelo. Ozona showed up ready to play some football, and it showed early. TLCA had several miscues on offense that killed momentum time and time again, and the Lions took full advantage. Ozona won this one handily, 65-14.
Highlights from the game on Friday:
Ozona put it to TLCA early and often and led by as much as 50 points by halftime. The Eagles managed to pull together in the second half to kickstart their offense, but the game was well out of reach at the point. Still, it's always a positive sign when a team refuses to give up. With a new head coach for TLCA this season, growing pains will be present and evident for the first few games this season.
Ozona proved how dangerous the Lions can and will be this season. They showed up ready to play, executed their game plan to almost perfection, and came home with a victory. Check out the postgame interview with Head Coach Taylor below:
Despite the score, Head Coach of the Eagles, Paulo Gonzalez, said that there were plenty of positives to take away from a matchup against a talented team.
“We moved the ball well, Gonzalez said. “Our screen game worked well, and we put up 270 yards through the air.”
It’s always a good sign when an offense can move the ball, but the Eagles need to learn how to finish those drives with points. Turnovers, sacks, and dropped balls proved to be drive-killers for TLCA on Friday, and that’s something Gonzalez says the coaching staff needs to address and fix.
“We have the weapons, and we just have to protect up front, Gonzalez continued. “If we can just give Honea time, our offense will be fine.”
There were several instances in the ball game last night where Gonzalez said that the Eagles had guys wide open down the field, but QB Layne Honea could not get the ball out due to protection issues. Credit a strong Ozona defense with the ability to disrupt up front. Honea had to run for his life on several occasions.
TLCA San Angelo Versus Ozona
(San Angelo LIVE! Photo)
In a scary moment that had everyone on edge, an ambulance had to take one of TLCA’s defensive guys to the hospital later in the game. Gonzalez said that there was not a specific hit or incident that caused the injury, but his player reported feeling a tingling sensation in his legs. Doctors later determined after a CAT scan that the player would be fine and a pinched nerve was the most likely culprit. Gonzalez said that the injured player is now resting at home with full feeling in his extremities and should be fine.
The TLCA San Angelo Eagles travel to Odessa next Friday, September 1, to play the Odessa Compass Academy at 7:30 p.m.
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